My Intro.

[Guest guest]

Hi My name is Charlenea. I'm a 38 year old female. I was first

diagonest with CMT at age 12 by the Shriner's hospital in St.

Louis. I also have solieosis of my spine. I was put in a

Milwalkie brace for my back that I had to wear till age 16. I

was also given my first pair of AFOs. I have been wearing them

ever since. They have greatly inproved over the years. Thankfully

I have never had to wear the off the rack kind.I was told at

age 12 that I would be in a wheelchair by age 20. I am now age

38 and I own an electric one that I only use when I am going

some place that requires a lot of walking. I use a walker of a

morning when I first get up before I put on my braces.I have

never been able get any information on CMT. My doctors have

never been able to tell me much about it. I usually know more

than they do even my neruologist. It was so great to finnally

find out about all the information that is avaible on the net.

I didn't know that a lot of the problems I have been have for

the last few years is my CMT. My g.p. doctors have been trying

to figure out my I am always so tired now I know that it is CMT.

A few years ago I was having chest pains that we all thought

might be my heart. I had every test ran that are known to man

only to find out that nothing is wrong. I still have the pains

in my chest. I have learned to ignore them over the years it so

nice to know that what I have going through is normal for us

with CMT. I feel so happy to know that I can now go some place

and talk with other people that have CMT and know what I am

feeling and going through with all changes that we go threw as

we age. You see I am the only family member that has CMT. We

have gone back 3 generations and can find no histroy of any

kind of muscle problems of any kind. I have never talked to

anyone with CMT before so this is one of the exciting things

to ever happen to me.I am a mother of 2 boys of my own and step

mother of 2 more. So I have raised 4 boys. Our 2 oldest are 21

then the next one is 19 and the last one is 18. I am also a

grandmother to a beautiful 9 month old little girl.I was

suprized to find out about all the drugs that are harmful to

us I have been taking ultram and zoloft for several years. I

wish I had known about this years ago. I wonder how much damage

has been done because of the medicine that I have taken over

the years.I have also been exercising trying to gain back the

muscle that I lost over the years. I have been going by the

old no pain no gain rules. And now I find out what I have been

doing to make myself stronger is really making me weaker and

doing more damage. It really makes me mad to think that a lot

of what I have been doing for years to help myself is only

making myself worse.I have never been a person that can give

up on any thing especailly myself. I tend to push myself till

I drop and know I find out that, that only does more damage

too.I have aways rode and owned horses. I have hiked in the

mountains of North Carolinia with a 25 pound pack. And spent

9 days living in a tent. It was great!! That was about 8 years

ago. I went back to one of the mountains that I had climbed

then and I couldn't make it to the top. That was the first time

that I had ever atempted something that would not finsh. It

really upset me. And the worse part was that my husband and

family would understand why I was so upset. They really tryed

but they didn't understand. I felt like the felt sorry for me.

I really hate it when I see pitty in other peoples eyes. I

don't feel sorry for myself and I really hate it when others

do. It really makes me mad.I just want to thank you for this

site. It make me feel so much better to know that I'm not alone

any more. It's great read about other people that know what I'm

feeling and going through.